News for the Young Punjab!

Gurdwara clash leads to 55 Sikhs arrested in UK

Police arrested 55 protesters at a Gurudwara in Leamington Spa on Sunday. They said numerous “Kirpans or daggers’ had been seized at the scene.

According to reports, the men entered the temple to protest an inter-faith wedding between a Sikh and a Hindu in a Sikh wedding ceremony known as Anand Karaj.

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Armed police surrounded the Gurdwara Sahib early in morning, after receiving reports that a group had entered the temple. The men were arrested for aggravated trespass hours after the protest began.

“A significant number of bladed weapons were seized from the scene,” Superintendent David Gardner said. “As a result of reports that the men were in possession of these weapons we deployed armed officers as a precaution. Nobody was injured in the incident.”

Intra-sikh clashes are not unknown. Just last week, Belgian authorities have ordered the closure of a gurudwara near Brussels saying it poses a security threat after a dispute between Sikh groups, media reports said today.

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“Then just before 7:00am the police turned up. Everybody is just shocked. This kind of thing is completely alien to us,” an anonymous sikh worshipper said. “Some people said the men had come from as far as Manchester. We didn’t recognise any of them.”

‘Sikh 2 Inspire’ said it had staged a peaceful protest. Sikhs in the UK have previously protested the Sikh wedding ceremony being carried out for mixed faith weddings.